IC layout market soars, as front-end tools dip

SAN JOSE, Calif. - IC implementation toolsets and IC layout tools experienced phenomenal growth in 2001, while front-end tools such as logic synthesis faltered, according to a new report by Gartner Dataquest. And market share leadership changed in several key areas of the electronic design automation market last year, due in part to a wave of industry consolidation.

Market share numbers changed in several segments. Verisity Design Inc. is now the leading supplier of system-level test and verification tools; Verplex Systems Inc. surged ahead in formal verification; Magma Design Automation Inc. and Cadence Design Systems Inc. both gained ground in IC implementation; Synplicity Inc. gained a majority share in FPGA synthesis; and Nassda Inc. surged into a strong number two position in IC Spice.

The report notes, however, that the change from perpetual licenses complicates revenue comparisons and market share numbers. Due to license model changes, Synopsys' recognized revenues were down 19.9 percent in 2001, while Cadence's grew 32.1 percent, according to the report. Cadence matched Mentor Graphics Corp. in design rule checking last year, mainly because of timely flexible access model (FAM) license renewals, the report says.

Verisity, which was about even with Synopsys in 2000, moved into a 58 percent market share in system-level test and verification in 2001. That overall market grew 49 percent, but electronic system-level design and behavioral synthesis declined, the report says.

In formal verification, the combination of Synopsys and Avanti Corp. held 57 percent market share in 2000, with Verplex holding 33 percent, according to last year's Dataquest report. But in 2001, Verplex moved to a 45 percent share while Synopsys, which purchased Avanti in 2001, held 47 percent, the latest report says.

In ASIC logic synthesis, Synopsys increased its market share to 91 percent, but revenues for this sector declined from $175.9 million in 2000 to $106.2 million in 2001, according to the report. Moreover, the report states that logic synthesis numbers could decline further in future years, as IC implementation toolsets gain ground.

Synplicity went from holding 45 percent of the FPGA synthesis market in 2000 to 54 percent in 2001, according to the report. Mentor was second in 2001 with 37 percent, and Synopsys had only 7 percent.

The report notes a precipitous decline in "verification team" emulation and acceleration, from $83.9 million in 2000 to $40.9 million in 2001. This market, dominated by Cadence, might "plateau" around $25 million, the report states. "Design team" emulation and acceleration, however, is expected to grow to $333 million by 2006. Mentor leads that fragmented market with a 38 percent share.

Silicon virtual prototyping is expected to be one of the fastest growing market segments, from $29.6 million in 2001 to $284.4 million in 2006. Here, Cadence is pegged at 52 percent, Synopsys at 30 percent, and Monterey Design Systems at 7 percent.

But the real star of the report is IC implementation, which is expected to soar from $34 million in 2000 revenues and $100.5 million in 2001, to $483.3 million in 2006. Last year, the report says, Synopsys' sales in this area grew 120 percent, Cadence's grew 217 percent, and Magma's grew 343 percent.

That leaves the current market shares at 41 percent for Synopsys, 31 percent for Magma, and 24 percent for Cadence, shifted from 64 percent, 24 percent, and 10 percent respectively in 2000.

In ASIC placement and routing, Cadence had 64 percent of the market in 2001, compared to 36 percent for Synopsys following its acquisition of Avanti. That's a decline from Avanti's 43 percent share in 2000.

Also in 2000, Avanti had 62 percent of the IC Spice market, according to Dataquest. But in 2001 the Synopsys figure, including Avanti, is down to 38 percent, due largely to Nassda's leap from 13 to 35 percent.

Market positions haven't changed in pc-board CAD, with Mentor still number one, Cadence number two and Zuken Ltd. number three. Cadence leads in packaging and pc-board Spice; Ansoft Corp. leads in physical analysis; and Mentor leads in timing and signal integrity, thanks to its acquisition of Innoveda Inc. Cadence continues to lead the pc-board Spice market.